John Speck

Born in a working class New Jersey town, raised in a “snotty, white, Connecticut suburb” and brought to life on the streets of San Francisco, John Speckis a living contradiction; whatever he does, he most likely does the opposite. An inveterate punk rocker, he took a degree from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. His interests circle the globe, are fiercely local but also include the entirety of the universe and all of history, especially the part we don’t know about.

His complete resume includes abject failure as a criminal and a rock star, average results in business and ringing success as a changer of people’s minds. He describes himself variously as a “one-man socialist revolution”, an “entrepreneur from the future”, a “PowerPoint performance artist” and a “general-purpose genius”. One press release claimed he has worked as “a gopher, a toady and an elf”.

Since landing in Providence, Rhode Island in the early 1990s, he worked in the box office of the local performing arts venue, a martial arts academy and a professional loudspeaker manufacturer before founding his own advertising concern. As partner in a local think tank, he advised state and local government agencies, colleges, non-profits and corporations. Much to their dismay.

His politics and faith are likewise complicated. His personal life is “none of your damn business.”